The primary objective of the Translational Research Training Program in Gerontology and Geriatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is to educate and train qualified individuals with MD and/or PhD degrees to become independent investigators in geriatric medicine and gerontology. By the end of fellowship training, candidates are rigorously prepared for success in embarking on academic careers in biomedical and clinical translational research in aging within a geriatrics division of a university medical center. In order to train the next generation of independent scientists and clinical investigators who will be at the forefront of translational research on aging, the Division of Geriatric Medicine & Gerontology's training involves a core curriculum that develops specific skill sets, and mentoring that further develops those skill sets and imparts career development and survival skills for the academic translational researcher. To achieve the goals of the Research Training Program, fellows experience early and extensive involvement in laboratory and clinical translational research training under the tutelage of full-time faculty members at Johns Hopkins, often in collaboration with senior staff of the Gerontology Research Center (GRC), the major intramural research program of the National Institute on Aging (NIA). This mentored research experience includes structured meetings with Program Faculty in geriatrics/gerontology and a supervised research project tailored to the trainee's experiences and interests, with the goal of producing one or more first- authored, peer-reviewed publications and a grant application to support further research. The growing proportion of older adults in the United States and the world underlies the need to train future researchers in Gerontology and Geriatrics. This application is a request for the next five years of funding for this program, whose goal is to prepare the future researchers and academic leaders who will facilitate the translation of scientific knowledge between disciplines and venues of research application (population studies; basic and clinical science; health care policy and delivery) in order to meet the challenge of improving the health of the elderly.